How a bunch of fat guys falling off horses wrecked the British Empire

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 134

May, 1811

New France, the "Bourbon Peninsula"

Years before, the Peninsula jutting westward between Lake Erie and Lake Huron had been renamed the "Bourbon Peninsula" in honor of the exiled King that took up residence in New France. Many believed that Louis XVI would eventually return to power in France and depart American shores. In the end, this didn't happen as the Orleanists clung stubbornly to power and, as the years went by, it seemed increasingly unlikely that the French people would start pining for the old regime.

With the death of Queen Marie Antoinette and the King's younger brother (also named Louis for some reason), the old King ceased pretending to care. He accepted whatever allowance New France could afford to give him, sold off his precious paintings one by one, and retreated to country life, leaving the administration in the hands of the politicians. This was the prime reason why the people of New France never seriously considered turning allegiance to the Orleanist Regime. It wasn't King Philippe to which they really opposed but the fact that they were a colony. With their resident (and utterly apolitical King), the people of New France could do what they wanted without some foreign King or Parliament telling them what to do.

With his three surviving children adults, the King quietly retired to the countryside, allowing his son Louis XVII to serve as regent. Though only in his fifties, Louis XVI was old before his time, beaten down by worry and the knowledge that he had failed his dynasty completely. Never the most sensual or strong-willed, the King had deferred to others all his life.

In his retirement, he built a new town upon the shores of an island upon the Detroit River called Grosse Ile. Only a few hundred yards away was the United States. He renamed the island "Versailles" and it would someday become the playground and country home of the New France Royalty.

Eventually, the "Bourbon Peninsula" would become the greater population center of New France with its fertile fields and proximity to the United States.

Philadelphia

Unlike previous commencement speeches, James Madison's lacked a key component: the brevity inherent in Ben Franklin and George Washington's public speaking style. Madison, a brilliant man (and a bit of a nerd), could barely shut up and droned on for 45 minutes in esoteric legal points and obscure economic theory. 20,000 Americans was not the audience for this. Unexpectedly, outgoing President Jay and Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton were on the podium and politely applauded the new Federationist President replacing them. Both had quietly negotiated with Madison and his minions over the months and agreed to support some of Madison's initiatives without much rancor in exchange for guarantees that he would not tear apart the entire Centralist government. Indeed, there wasn't as much distance between the two parties as some believed (at least in Madison's mind). He was not a Jefferson duplicate and did not subscribe to the man's pseudo-anarchist political theories. Madison would tweak the laws, not wholly rescind them. He supported a national bank, though with modifications. He supported expansion. He supported the war, in general. He supported infrastructure improvements, though with more local control and funding.

But Madison was now President and had to deal with the war. While expensive, the American economy was faring fairly well. Trade with Britain, France, New France, etc, continued without much in the way of Spanish naval interference. With Brazil and some other parts of the Iberian Empire opened up, there was actually in increase in tariff revenues.

In truth, Madison was largely to leave the process of governance in place as he continued Jay's policies.

The news of William Brown's unsolicited "Treaty" with the northern Brazilians came as a shock to much of the political establishment. President Jay nearly recalled the Captain immediately to explain himself. In the end, he opted to defer the matter to Madison, whom was only weeks away at that point to ascending to the Presidency.

Madison was intrigued. There were millions of Brazilians (he assumed, he'd never seen a census of the Portuguese colony but knew it was rich in sugar, coffee and gold). If they legitimately desired American citizenship...well, he would see. No reason to make a precipitous act. However, Madison was much more suspicious of the British intentions than Jay had been. The Centralists were always more Pro-British than the Federationists.

The last thing Madison wanted to Britain staking claims on the mainland or close to American shores (he deeply criticized the concession of Havana and western Cuba to Britain). For all America's differences with Spain, Britain was simply more dangerous a foe...or a neighbor. The incoming President was adamant that Great Britain would not gain a foothold in New Spain and promptly ordered that nothing was to stand between America and control of Veracruz. With control of Veracruz came control of New Spain. Madison would give it back to Spain before he let Britain have it.

At the time, he didn't know that General Bonaparte had already started wandering away from the city with most of his garrison.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Wait did i miss something somewhere? Maria Theresia only had Joseph II? No other son's? Not only that but Habsburg-Lorraine is dissolving into the House Wettin?

Yeah, instead of all the Imperial daughters of Maria Theresa I dying of smallpox, it was the Imperial sons with the exception of Leopold who was made an idiot after falling off his horse. Therefore Joseph II passed on the reins to his daughter whom survived in this TL, Maria Theresa II. She married the younger son of the Elector of Saxony. When the older son died without issue, Maximilian claimed Poland and Saxony, thus kicking off this Habsburg-Wettin expansion.

 

[Drizzt]

I don't think TTL is too americawanky. In OTL for much before the Civil War, the main constraint to US expansion were not foreign armies or any moral scruples, but simply that half the country didn't want to add any more slave states and the other half not any more free states. This "level cap" doesn't exists here. SC and ML can't block addding any free states by themselves and are completly outvoted instead.
If you want to throw some monkey wrenches into the US fortunes, don't try to stop their expansionism "just because". Instead I'd suggest any of three options:
1. People of all political stripes not wanting to add populated states with a non-Anglo-Protestant voting base.
2. U.S. gets overly greedy and is smacked down by a European coalition.
3. There's a lot of people that think, that if an overhwelming majority of a certain section of a nation wants to secede, they should be allowed to do so and the OTL CSA was merely the expection there due to their Seccession being frist, second and third about preserving slavery. So perhaps slavery does fade away for the next few decades as I and probably most of your readers expect, but some other differences rear their heads and seccesionist movents start in more outlying states.

 

[Driftless]

I think one of the nifty things with this timeline has been the ebb and flow of nation/empire fortunes. For a stretch near the beginning of this tale, France and Spain were ascendant, Austria & Russia have had extended cycles of growth and staying power. Now each of those empires has/is having difficulties. The British suffered mightily and have been slowly returning to success. The US, in early days generally stuck to the "avoid foreign entanglements", and in this universe, dodged the poisonous chattel slavery-states rights bullet, have experienced consistent growth. Be patient, those on the rise are likely to run into problems and those in the pits, if they chose wisely, will rise again.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 135

July, 1811

Salvador, northern Brazil

Captain William Brown knew he was probably in trouble in Philadelphia. However, he didn't know how to back out gracefully of this bind. Several ambitious young officers of his naval crews and marine detachments had been contributing to a Constitutional Convention in Salvador between representatives of the two major northern cities, Salvador and Recife, which they claimed represented the northern Portuguese colonies.

They approved the Constitution of the United States along with a proposal to President Jay (or Brown supposed it was Madison by now) and Congress to accept the northern colonies as self-governing territories. With several solicitors and other professionals in his command, the Americans largely lead the Convention, making suggestions regarding the official banning of slavery under "Territorial Law", whatever that was.

The whole episode seemed bizarre but Brown had been ordered to establish trade with Brazil and this seemed a good way to do it. Indeed, American traders, along with British, Dutch, French, etc, etc, etc, showed up and Brown made no attempt to hinder any of them. Only the Spanish and Portuguese were halted on the sea.

There was plenty of trade to be had and the Americans were only called upon when local Monarchist or Pro-Spanish or Anti-American resistance cropped up. The large quantity of native Brazilians that now dominated the government, mainly the lower classes and the freed slaves (the lowest of all the classes) leading it. However, they had few professionals and called upon dozens of American officers to "help".

Brown was not overly worried about an immediate counter-attack by Spain and Portugal. He knew enough of the world to know that Spain's Navy had rotted over the years, with more Admirals on the roster than ships. With only about 30 or so Ships-of-the-line and perhaps an equal number of frigates, the Spanish were outnumbered two to one by the British (and probably outclassed by ten to one). Brown was uncertain of exactly how many of the nominal Spanish fleet was even seaworthy, much less armed, provisioned and crewed.

And the Portuguese fleet had been largely destroyed, what there was of it as of a few years ago.

This left the Spanish in a bind. In order to ensure a fleet made it through to America, they had to come in large enough numbers to intimidate whatever smaller British squadrons they come across. Realistically, that meant that the Spanish must send at least a dozen ships-of-the-line or frigates with every convoy. And Spain could hardly completely denude their coastline of defense. Only a portion of the fleet could be sent to the New World.

Given the huge distances, this effectively limited the Spanish to two or three major convoys a year. Spain would be lucky to be able to turn around a squadron for two trips to the West Indies per annum. Brazil and Rio Plata may be only once per year. Peru and Chile once ever two years.

In short, the capacity for Spain to even SHIP men and equipment to the New World was tight, much less in force to arrive. With rebellions in New Spain, New Granada, Brazil and Rio Plata, as well as the conquest of Cuba by an Anglo-American force and the need to reinforce Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, it would take years to simply reach every major hot spot and with half a dozen British and American squadrons sailing about, every convoy was at risk. Northern Brazil was somewhat low on the priority list and it was unlikely to Brown that a Spanish fleet would arrive over the horizon any time soon.

One morning, a fleet did arrive. However, it was American. Three more warships (two frigates and a sloop), three transports bearing soldiers and a dozen trading vessels would sail in Salvador and Recife with orders from President Madison to support the American claim and negotiate in good faith with the Brazilians. Madison's emissary was the former Governor of Virginia, James Monroe.

Puebla, New Spain

It appeared to General Bonaparte that the Spanish colonials had fallen upon themselves again. Evidently, the juntas in command of Puebla and Mexico City had quarreled and their generals had battled half-way between the two cities.

This left Puebla largely unprotected. Bonaparte had gathered enough intelligence over the preceding weeks to realize that nothing resembling a defensive fortification had been thrown up in New Spain's inland city.

In July, under a mercifully cloudy sky, the Americans brushed aside the feeble Pueblans' defense and entered the city. The repeating rifles were particularly effective against the colonials. The "Backwoodsman" (America's version of the famed British Ferguson Rifle) exceeded a musket in range, accuracy and rate of fire. The only weakness was lack of a bayonet. However, the Spanish colonials were not a Continental army trained in mass tactics. They old fashioned muskets, shotguns and even spears were easily outclassed by the Backwoodsman. With only a few light cannon, Bonaparte broke through the haphazard city defensive fortifications (mainly a few carts thrown on their side) guarding the city gates and happily moved into the Governor's palace the next day.

His subordinates, a fine engineer named Jonathan Swift and a Neapolitan cavalry officer named Pepe, would quickly dispatch translators in an attempt to curry favor among the population. It didn't gain much but a few hundred guides, translators and laborers were enticed to the American cause but these nevertheless proved quite critical in survival over the next few months. Over the past years, the locals had been exposed to a dozen different kinds of "Nationalist" fervor from Monarchist to Republican to Anarchist to Nativist to Warlordism to god-knows-what.

The Americans didn't seem to be much worse than the rest and perhaps promised more stability. They couldn't deliver but that didn't surprise many.

Pune

The Maratha Emperor buried his grandfather with all due honor. The man had remade the Empire into something truly great, destroying once and for all the Mughal Empire and crushing one by one the Muslim potentates which ruled over the Hindu majority.

Now, only Oudh and Bengal stood in opposition to the Maratha's. The French Sarkars had quaveringly acceded to every Maratha demand, they being too weak to resist due to some sort of French civil war on the other side of the planet. The Emperor had demanded tribute...and gotten it.

The British, snide as they were, continued to provide a service to the Empire thus were allowed to remain in their little trading cities. They fancied themselves a power in India. They were not. The Emperor could raise an army of 250,000 in months. The British were restricted to less than 1000 soldiers per trading center and forbidden to expand defenses without Maratha permission. Really only the British 7 Islands of Bombay were exempt from this decree.

With his powers at a peak, the young Emperor commanded his British, French, Dutch, Danish, etc factors to arrange an importation of modern weapons for his army. The Durranis and various Muslim scum from the north had been wiped out years ago and hadn't set foot in the Empire since.

Now it was time to deal with Oudh and Bengal.

 

[Alt History Buff]

I don't think TTL is too americawanky. In OTL for much before the Civil War, the main constraint to US expansion were not foreign armies or any moral scruples, but simply that half the country didn't want to add any more slave states and the other half not any more free states. This "level cap" doesn't exists here. SC and ML can't block addding any free states by themselves and are completly outvoted instead.
If you want to throw some monkey wrenches into the US fortunes, don't try to stop their expansionism "just because". Instead I'd suggest any of three options:
1. People of all political stripes not wanting to add populated states with a non-Anglo-Protestant voting base.
2. U.S. gets overly greedy and is smacked down by a European coalition.
3. There's a lot of people that think, that if an overhwelming majority of a certain section of a nation wants to secede, they should be allowed to do so and the OTL CSA was merely the expection there due to their Seccession being frist, second and third about preserving slavery. So perhaps slavery does fade away for the next few decades as I and probably most of your readers expect, but some other differences rear their heads and seccesionist movents start in more outlying states.

I agree with all of this.

The US benefitted from the cotton and tobacco exports only possible by slavery but it politically neutered the nation. Without that monkey on its back, I would suspect that it would lead to an early sense of imperialism that was largely absent in OTL America.

Without slavery, I don't see any major secession movements arriving that wouldn't be along ethnic lines. Perhaps if America were to absorb parts of OTL Cuba, Mexico or Brazil (as may happen here), the language/cultural/theological gaps may prove too great to overcome and that is where the American "Empire" may fall apart.

 

[Alt History Buff]

I think one of the nifty things with this timeline has been the ebb and flow of nation/empire fortunes. For a stretch near the beginning of this tale, France and Spain were ascendant, Austria & Russia have had extended cycles of growth and staying power. Now each of those empires has/is having difficulties. The British suffered mightily and have been slowly returning to success. The US, in early days generally stuck to the "avoid foreign entanglements", and in this universe, dodged the poisonous chattel slavery-states rights bullet, have experienced consistent growth. Be patient, those on the rise are likely to run into problems and those in the pits, if they chose wisely, will rise again.

Agree, the US may get bit in the ass if they get too cocky as virtually ever power in Europe has over the past 50 years.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 136

August 1811

Rio Plata

Like the Americans, the British were not idle with their expansionist aspirations. The Spanish had not yet dared to face the British in a large, open sea battle and that more or less left the British smelling blood. It had been a century since Britain had feared Spain at sea and the Royal Navy prowled for its opposite number with a hunger barely recalled in decades.

Still, the main Spanish convoys continued to get through. Several thousand Spanish soldiers had made it through to New Granada, where the Monarchists were already re-ascending over the Republicans. With 6000 Spanish troops, Caracas fell and the port of Cartagena was besieged from the land.

In the meantime, another battle was being waged in the far south of the world. The lightly populated Rio Plata province had declared independence upon hearing that Brazil had overthrown the Portuguese governors. This had nothing to do with the Spanish Empire but the colonials were sick of Peninsular mismanagement, arrogance and oppression. The Rio Plata region was dependent upon foreign trade and Spain continued to refuse to allow this. Local leaders cast off the Viceroy and formed their own government.

As the people attempted to determined just what that government would be, British ships arrived off the coast of Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

Unlike the Americans, the British did not even pretend to be anything but conquerors. In Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, the British had simply bombarded the defensive forts and any Spanish or Portuguese ships and pronounced their intention that "Brazil could not be allowed to fall into Spanish hands". There was to be no "helping" or "protecting". This was colonialism quite straightforward. Granted, the southern portions of Brazil were less rebellious than other areas of Spanish or Portuguese control but this was incredibly heavy-handed on the part of the British. Regent Williams' forces had been far more diplomatic in Cuba, Bermuda and even Veracruz. This was perhaps emblematic of the aggressive policies of Percival, Canning and Liverpool whom sought to consume a large portion of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires.

Britain was more than happy to allow trade with the natives but it would be on the terms of Britain. Oddly, in America's weakness, they encouraged more support than the far greater British squadrons of the south where thousands of British troops were being disgorged onto South American soil.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 137

September, 1811

Philadelphia

General Arthur Wesley's recall from Cuba could not have come sooner. After nearly two years in Cuba, he was just glad to get out of that hell. It was hotter than Florida but less humid. Why exactly the country continued to dispatch him to every pestilential hellhole, he simply did not know.

As it was, the cool of Philadelphia in fall was mercifully fulfilling. Benedict Arnold Jr. had been dispatched to replace him in Cuba.

The new President, Madison, summoned him home. Wesley doubted this was a political move as the soldier had generally stayed out of the political arena. He supposed he would soon receive another assignment. Maybe someplace north where people had heard of snow.

"Ah, General Wesley," Madison exclaimed when Wesley was ushered into his room. The little man seemed a bit excitable. "I have good news, General. A new assignment is crying out for services. Have you ever been to Brazil?"

Bengal

The young Nawab of Bengal had waited for years for his moment. His grandfather had been utterly loathed by everyone who knew him intimately. His own abrasive personality had alienated his court and facilitated the hated Robert Clive's overthrow decades ago. Only happenstance allowed the Nawab to regain his throne.

Since then, the late Nawab instituted a reign of terror against his perceived enemies (the Marathas, the British, the Hindus of his own realm, his own extended family). The new Nawab intended to undo the damage but would soon face his own problems.

After decades of his own oppression of the Hindu majority in western Bengal, the Marathas were finally willing and capable of marching against the Nawab. Though the younger Nawab had no part in the repression and forced conversions, the Marathas did not care. As the sporadic rebellions continued, the Hindu Bengalis cried out for deliverance from the Maratha Emperor.

London

William, Duke of Clarence, Regent Great Britain, wondered what the hell his cabinet was trying to accomplish.

Now they wanted to dispatch ships to CHINA?!!

If the Emperor didn't want the damn opium that the British bought in India and sold to the apparent magnitudes of drug users in China, then the Regent wasn't certain what a few ships could do about it. Would a hundred cannon somehow conquer two hundred million people?

The whole thing seemed ridiculous.

William inquired if they intended to give up the Spanish war as he had been told again and again that the Royal Navy was stretched thin. Would not dispatching god-know-how-many ships to China for the next few years not make the problem worse?

As the Cabinet debated over the coming weeks, the Regent was informed of other developments, utterly unrelated to the current war.

1. The subcontinent was on the verge of war...again.
2. The citizens of Malta, having been forced at Russian bayonet-point in accepting the return of their Knights of St. John overlords, had utilized the Russian distraction over the past years to, for the second time, overthrow the unwanted interlopers.

In the end, the Regent was just uncertain of what this government was attempting to accomplish. The war had gone on for years, having been lost in Portugal. Now the fight continued?

Wasn't the original point to ensure Portuguese freedom?

How did conquering Cuba and Rio Plata go towards those goals? William hardly objected to imperialism but this was blatantly opportunistic aggression. Had France been in any shape to intervene and their alliance with Spain still valid, Britain would never have dared to do this.

Indeed, the Regent thought it ironic that Britain's former colonists were providing a ready supply of provisions and ports to support Britain in her conquest. It was as if the American War for Independence never happened.

Well, that was an exaggeration. Now the Americans wanted a share of the spoils. Despite their baffling inclination to dilute their blood lately with Irish, Germans, French, Slavs and god-knows-what, the soul of America remained stoutly British, for all the good and bad that that entailed.

 

[Alias]

Arthur Wesley's is this TL Zebulon Pike.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Arthur Wesley's is this TL Zebulon Pike.

At least he didn't have to marry Kitty Pakenham.

 

[SavoyTruffle]

"Ah, General Wesley," Madison exclaimed when Wesley was ushered into his room. The little man seemed a bit excitable. "I have good news, General. A new assignment is crying out for services. Have you ever been to Brazil?"

Mr Wesley is screaming inside, I bet.

Also, a southward expanding US is far more interesting. If the West and East coasts of North America are different countries this could shake things up.

 

[naraht]

Mr Wesley is screaming inside, I bet.

Also, a southward expanding US is far more interesting. If the West and East coasts of North America are different countries this could shake things up.

The question becomes which countries are capable of taking (for example) San Francisco. Russia? Spain?

 

[Shiva]

The question becomes which countries are capable of taking (for example) San Francisco. Russia? Spain?

I kind of hope that another nation emerges on the west coast, well besides an independent (but smaller) Mexico, I'm wanting to see a large California emerge as an independent state, that way America doesn't become too huge. Plus it'd be neat to see Russia expand beyond Alaska, there's plenty of RL Canada to be settled and snatched out from underneath Britain. Not to mention that New France really needs to expand if it wants to avoid being COMPLETELY dominated by the United States.

But I do like the idea that Secession is still in the realm of legality for this TL's America, after all slavery isn't dividing the nation so a massive Civil War really isn't in the cards.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 138

November, 1811

Havana

General Edward Pakenham was grateful to see the close of summer and the initial throes of winter....well, what passed for winter in Cuba anyway. Havana was a tropical hellhole. He'd lost hundreds of men to fevers and feared this was only the beginning. Winter brought some respite but not terribly much. Indeed, Pakenham was forced to dispatch much of his forces to the highlands, not for any military purposes but in hopes of protecting them from the pestilence of the lowlands.

It was times like this that Pakenham missed the Ireland of his youth. His father had been a Baron in the Irish peerage and, like most Anglicans, supported the Protestant Ascendancy. When Ireland revolted in the 1770's, his father had attempted to remain silent long enough to maintain his homestead. In the end, this failed and the family was force to flee for England, losing much of the family wealth (oddly, the same thing happened to his American counterpart, Arthur Wesley, who came from a wealthy Irish protestant family as well). Only the fortuitous marriage of his elder brother to an English heiress prevented the family from entering bankruptcy. Otherwise, the Pakenhams may have become Georgia farmers like the Wesleys.

For two years, the soldier had waited for a Spanish counter-offensive in Havana. For two years, nothing had happened. Did the Empire just forget about this lonely outpost? It seemed impossible to believe so. Yes, the Spanish obviously needed to subject Portugal first (in the name of the Infanta, of course), but should not the Spanish have dispatched greater reinforcements to the West Indies by NOW??!!

Of course, the Spanish Army and Navy (not to mention its financial state) were a ruin of their former selves. Pakenham was not a sailing man but knew the incredible logistical challenges of forming a fleet and shipping an army across the ocean. Still, with half the Spanish Empire under rebellion or American and British attack, could not the Spanish have done SOMETHING more than they have? By the latest intelligence from Britain, it appeared only a few thousand men had been dispatched from Spain (under heavy guard from 1/3 the Spanish fleet) and landed in New Granada. Attempts to reach New Spain had failed, apparently. The Portuguese, with renewed bounds to the Infanta, had attempted to ship forces from Lisbon but had been turned by back a British squadron. Pakenham was surprised to learn that Portugal HAD forces anymore. He'd assumed they'd been destroyed in the Civil War.

In the end, both Iberian Kingdoms (soon to be united apparently) had been unfortunate in rulers over the past quarter century. Maria the Mad of Portugal had spent years undoing Pombal's reforms, her only goal apparently to reinstate the Jesuits to power (she largely failed both in Portugal and the colonies). Ferdinand of Spain was a lazy idiot who seemed indifferent to the health and welfare of his realms. His bitchy wife possessed more spine but had been utterly focused on putting her sister Maria Antonia back on the throne of France.

In a way, Pakenham felt sorry for the Catholic countries. They lacked a wise ruler like George III that could restore faith in the monarchy.

In the end, Pakenham was condemned to wait for a Spanish invasion that apparently was not soon in coming. Indeed, his correspondence with the new commander, Benedict Arnold JR (apparently the son of the revered American General) of the American garrison on the eastern 2/3rds of the island was full of playful and droll wit. A running bet between the two had a fine bottle of French wine going to whoever gets attacked by the Spaniards first.

Maybe the Spanish simply gave up?

God knows it seemed that the hurdles seemed insurmountable to reconquer their Empire.

Spain would have to:

1. Fight their way through the British (and American) fleet to invade Cuba, brush aside over 10,000 American and British troops and restore order in Cuba. At least here, there had been not major Republican movement. However, the American decision to liberate the slaves on the west side of the island made for a significant pro-American contingent that would no doubt aid the defenders (Pakenham . The British control over the Morro in Havana would also exact a price in any siege.

2. Then the Spanish would have to push aside the British and American fleets guarding Veracruz, retake that bastion, then march for hundreds of miles in all directions to destroy the British and American armies in New Spain, then put down the local Republicans that were fighting the British and American Armies.

3. Then the Spanish had to push aside the British and American fleets off of Brazil, destroy the British and American armies now resident, then crush the assorted hodgepodge of rebellious forces (anti-slave revolts, Republican movements, various dictators) among the Brazilian colonies.

4. Then the Spanish needed to push aside the British fleet off of Montevideo and Buenos Aires, defeat the British forces on land, then crush the Republican forces in Rio Plate.

Then everything would be fine for the Infante and Infanta.

Given the sheer number of battles to fight, based on Pakenham's calculation of the Spanish martial forces in existence, it would taken Spain years to return control over the Spanish and Portuguese Empires merely due to the vast distances and large quantity of military targets. If Spain could only reasonably dispatch forces (army and navy) to attack two to four targets per year, it would still take at least five years to regain just the major ports of the combined Empires.

And that was if Spain WON EVERY SINGLE BATTLE AGAINST BRITAIN, AMERICA AND THEIR OWN REBELLIOUS COLONIES WITHOUT A SINGLE DEFEAT!

Seen from a logistical standpoint, this seemed utterly impossible. Spain lacked the army, navy, finances, etc to sustain such a campaign. No wonder no significant armada had attempted to retake Cuba. Spain needed a dozen armadas to even dream of regaining her Empire.

So Pakenham waited. His colleague John Whitelocke had been dispatched to the Rio Plata some time ago, no doubt London desiring that the city of Buenos Aires surrender to British supremacy as had Montevideo. With those two cities, the entire region could be pacified.

Good luck to him.


Campeche, Yucatan Peninsula

The Yucatan was not blessed with overly many fine harbors. The little port of Campeche was among the best. Thus, in an effort to control the inflow of communication and trade, General Antoine Phelippeaux decided to seize the town. Phelippeaux was convinced the idiot Corsican would get himself killed by attacking Puebla and Mexico City. The Frenchman in the British service was willing to concentrate on more obtainable targets, ones which would play to the British strength and desires, namely the Royal Navy. With Campeche under British control, the Empire may consolidate her power by creating a ring of bases about the Mediterranean from Havana to Kingston to Campeche to Barbados. Eventually, this would allow the Empire to seize what else mattered - San Juan, Cartagena, whatever - and create a British hegemony.

After years in British service, Phelippeaux had taken the British interests to heart. God knows no faction in French politics - the Bourbonists, Orleanists, Republicans or West Indian Planters - merited his loyalty after a life of service to the realm.

A brilliant engineer and artilleryman, Phelippeaux aided the Royal Navy in besieging and conquering Campeche. He also learned that the Royal Navy had reconquered the flyspeck Cayman Islands from the Spanish. He had no idea where they were until someone pointed them out on a map. They were near Jamaica, apparently.

On the whole, the campaign went well beyond the horrific losses to disease.

Emissaries were sent into the Yucatan interior to the huge populations of Indians. For the most part, they were happy to ignore the very existence of the British.

Phelippeaux did not know if this was a good thing or bad thing.

Puebla

General Napoleon Bonaparte had been idle for months as he asked for reinforcements. Finally tired of waiting, the Corsican-born American decided to march upon Mexico City.

 

[Driftless]

Does the youthful Winfield Scott (25-ish) come into play ITTL? Pretty sharp guy, even if he had to learn from his mistakes.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 139

December, 1811

Fort San Juan de Ulua, Veracruz, New Spain

Colonel Jonathan Swift greeted the 1500 American soldiers with a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected Congress to fund any further expansions of the army.

With over 10,000 soldiers dispatched to Cuba, New Spain and apparently Brazil, the young nation must be stretched financially. Still, Swift welcomed the reinforcements. They determined that America's forces would predominate Veracruz for the foreseeable future. The alliance proved shaky at times in the past and neither Britain nor America fully trusted the other. Bonaparte and Phelippeaux's open mutual loathing lent more than ample evidence of this.

Uncertain what to do, Swift worked with his new subordinates - Alexander Macomb and Winfield Scott - to tighten the defenses around Veracruz. The British still had 1000 troops in the city therefore the Colonel was forced to cooperate as best he could. Fortunately, the aged Robert Abercromby was a reasonable man. Beyond the mighty fortification, the city was actually quite level with few natural defensive fortifications. Any barriers would be an improvement over the current exposed situation.

God knew what was going to happen with the (in Swift's mind) ill-advised offensives of Generals Bonaparte and Phelippeaux.

Malta

The people of Malta had had quite enough. The Knights of Saint John continued to irritate the inhabitants to the point that a second rebellion occurred. The mighty fortress was taken from the lax knights and the harbor's handful of ships placed under Maltese guns.

The Russian Czar had promised to maintain the control of the island to the Knights. The people had other plans. The sole warship in harbor was a Russian frigate. Witnessing guns targeted upon her decks, the Captain wisely negotiated the freedom of the Knights and quietly carried them away in several transports (of various flags).

The Czar would not be happy when he learned of this.

Philadelphia

Secretary of State John Laurens suspected that his tenure in Philadelphia was growing short. President Madison had kept the Centralist man in his position as he deemed it prudent to maintain the same negotiation teams in respect to both allies and enemies. As the wore bore on, it appeared that peace was not anytime in the future. Indeed, the fact that portions of Brazil may be absorbed into America perhaps meant continued war was a GOOD thing.

The initial desire to secure Florida and a favorable Caddo border, maybe even California, had been superceded by even greater fantasies. Laurens, like most of the higher Centralist and Federationist politicians (including the new President) was an expansionist and the shockingly weak Spanish resistance in New Spain, Cuba and Brazil hinted that perhaps American dreams of a united North and South America may be realized.

What was more, the events pointed towards another long-held desire of Laurens: the abolition of slavery. Tens years in Philadelphia gave Laurens immense pride in his accomplishment of halting the trans-Atlantic slave trade entirely due to his British alliance and prodding of France, the Dutch Republic, etc. With abolition of slavery in "American Cuba", the somewhat more chaotic abolition ongoing in Northern Brazil (some fantasized this as being an "American Brazil" though Laurens question if it was culturally possible to assimilate so many Portuguese-speaking Catholics from such a distance) and the fact that the revolutionary governments in New Spain and New Granada (which had largely fallen) had abolished slavery gave evidence that the institution was on its last legs. It was ironic that the son of a slave-trader would go down in history as perhaps the primary abolitionists in American history.

Laurens returned home to his plantation in South Carolina. After his father's death, Laurens had personally manumitted his own slaves as an example to others. While walking through downtown Charleston, a fanatical pro-slavery advocate shouted out an unintelligible curse and shot Laurens in the back with a pair of pistols before fleeing down a blind alley.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Does the youthful Winfield Scott (25-ish) come into play ITTL? Pretty sharp guy, even if he had to learn from his mistakes.

Good timing, I was just adding a blurb on him in the last chapter.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Chapter 140

January, 1812

Mexico City

It had taken General Bonaparte months gather up enough forces to march upon Mexico City. The city of Puebla fell easily enough because its warlord had been defeated by that of Mexico City and left the city denuded to protection. The next target would not.

Bonaparte had no idea what was waiting for him less than 100 miles to the west. He only found out when he reached the gates.

London

Regent William, Duke of Clarence, wondered how this new petition would be received by the Ministers. The Maltese delegation had begged Great Britain to dispatch a squadron in order to keep the Russians from, once again, placing the Knights back in command of the strategic outpost. They also quietly hinted that there were other options if the Regent were to deny them.

Much to William's profound lack of surprise, the aggressive Spencer Percival agreed to negotiate an...arrangement...with the Maltese.

The Regent wondered if Britain was raising more demons than it could lay down.

Bengal

The Maratha forces smashed into western Bengal as if the defenses were made of paper...until they stiffened when supported by the Nawab of Oudh. Unlike his grandfather, the young Maratha Emperor was not willing to tolerate Muslim princes governing Hindus. And there were plenty of Hindus in both Bengal and Oudh, in the latter they made up a large majority.

While Oudh was better governed than Bengal over the past 50 year, the fact that there were so many Hindus willing to answer the call of Maratha Patriotism spoke volumes. In Bengal, whom had just endured a lifetime under an oppressive and evil ruler, was even more willing to rebel.

Even as the Bengali and Oudh armies (almost entirely Muslim as Hindus had been barred from military positions in the past few decades) battled against the superior numbers of the Marathas, the peoples of the two Kingdoms rose up in revolt. The city of Calcutta convulsed in revolution and the young Nawab fled north to Oudh, leaving the army in chaos. Though holding their own (barely) against the Marathas, the flight of the Nawab caused adequate confusion that the allies retreated north to Oudh together.

Salvador, Brazil

James Monroe's tenure as Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the northern provinces of Brazil had not gone according to plan. He was sent to form alliances, trading agreements and, if possible, negotiate terms for entry as an American protectorate.

Indeed, Monroe wondered how America could or would protect such a remote outpost. The Navy was expanding but still did not possess anything that resembled large ships-of-the-line. Even the perhaps-less-than-advertised Spanish Navy would not have difficulty in brushing the Americans aside should the alliance with Britain falter...or the British sail in and determine to take over.

As it was, Monroe was forced to actively intervene repeatedly by sending forces to various areas of conflict. The American soldiers were typically raw conscripts with no particular experience with their modern arms. They died of various fevers even in "winter". (this was a vague concept here so close to the equator).

When General Wesley arrived in January, Monroe at least had a fighting man. Wesley immediately realized that a few hundred, even a few thousand American troops would not hold such a vast area. Just the local shoreline was akin to the distance between Halifax and Baltimore. No, he must have local assistance so the General began training "Patriot" armies even as Monroe attempted to form self-governing polities from the ranks of the freedmen and radicals.

The northern provinces of Brazil were the primary locale of slaves. Now freed, they appreciated the fact that America's "Saint John Laurens", as he was known in Brazil, had been the greatest advocate to ending the slave trade (Monroe played this up). Half the residents of the northern provinces were blacks or mulattos and they proved quite adamant in their support for the new regime. With reports that the Infanta vowed to "restore Brazil to its early glory", this ensured a large portion of the population would without restriction favor the American part. Indeed, probably half the white population (assuming the dusky Portuguese counted as white to the pale English stock) supported the Americans for their promise of local government and easy trade (with anyone not at war with the United States). Taxes were generally low in the United States and territorial taxes were only raised and expended by their local assemblies.

It was everything the Brazilians wanted.

However, there remained resistance. The planters did not welcome the end of their social superiority. Portuguese nationalism remained a fact in some hearts. Many members of the clergy, even those supportive of the rebellion, were horrified at the idea of laying their Catholic population at the feet of what was effectively a Protestant power.

Wesley was tasked with hunting down this resistance with minimal resources over hundreds of thousands of square miles.

No problem.

 

[Knightmare]

Wesley was tasked with hunting down this resistance with minimal resources over hundreds of thousands of square miles.

No problem.

Look on the bright side!

At least you don't got to worry about your wife.